HOS-230 Hospitality Law
Hospitality law is designed to introduce the student to the legal issues surrounding the practices of the hospitality industry. Topics to be covered include, but are not limited to: contract law, negligence, bailment, rights of innkeepers, rights of guests, legal responsibilities connected with travel and tourism, liability with respect to the sale of food and alcohol, regulation and licensing, employment issues, and safety and security issues affecting the hospitality industry.
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Course Outline
Course Description
Hospitality law is designed to introduce the student to the legal issues surrounding the practices of the hospitality industry. Topics to be covered include, but are not limited to: contract law, negligence, bailment, rights of innkeepers, rights of guests, legal responsibilities connected with travel and tourism, liability with respect to the sale of food and alcohol, regulation and licensing, employment issues, and safety and security issues affecting the hospitality industry.
Credit Hours
3Semester(s) Course Will Be Offered
Spring
Course Learning Outcomes
- Identify the basic structure of the U.S. legal system.
- Analyze potential legal issues in the hospitality industry.
- Create a simple employment contract.
- Examine the legal obligations to guests and visitors in the hospitality industry.
Topic Outline
- 1. Introduction to the legal system
- a. What is law?
- i. Definition
- ii. Sources of law
- b. Our judicial system
- c. How a case makes its way through the court system
- d. Alternative dispute resolution
- 2. Contract law
- a. Contract law in general
- i. Elements
- ii. Types of contracts
- iii. Performance and breach
- iv. Remedies
- b. Specific contract provisions for the hospitality industry
- c. Management contracts
- d. Conference services contracts
- 3. Property
- a. Types of property
- b. Acquiring property
- c. Financing
- d. Leasing
- e. Intellectual property rights
- 4. Employment
- a. Hiring practices
- i. Employee selection
- ii. Discrimination in the hiring process
- b. Verification of employment status
- c. The employment relationship
- i. At-will employment
- ii. Labor unions and collective bargaining
- d. Workplace discrimination
- e. Sexual harassment
- f. Family and Medical Leave Act
- g. Compensation
- h. Employee evaluation, discipline, and termination
- i. Other workplace issues
- i. Employee records and retention
- ii. Employment posters
- iii. Workplace surveillance
- 5. Tort law
- a. Basic principles of negligence
- i. Elements
- ii. Negligence as it relates to real property
- iii. Res ipsa loquitur
- iv. Children
- v. Strict liability
- vi. Respondeat superior
- vii. Good Samaritan doctrine
- viii. Defenses
- b. Duties and obligations of a hospitality operator
- 6. Relationships with guests and other patrons
- a. Guests
- i. Definition
- ii. Admitting a guest
- iii. Denying admission
- iv. Privacy
- b. Facility maintenance
- c. Responsibilities to nonguests
- d. Removal of guests
- 7. Protecting patrons' property
- a. Liability for guests' property
- b. Limitations on liability
- c. Bailments
- d. Lost and abandoned property
- 8. Liability with respect to the sale of food and alcohol
- a. Warranty of merchantability
- b. Truth-in-menu laws
- c. Alcoholic beverages
- 9. Legal responsibilities related to travel and tourism
- a. Travel
- b. Agents and tour operators
- c. Online travel sales
- d. Transportation and common carriers
- e. Tourism
- i. Gaming operations
- ii. Resort and timeshare operations
- iii. Amusement parks
- 10. Safety and security issues in the hospitality industry
- a. Safety and security programs
- b. Crimes against hospitality businesses
- c. Crisis management programs